Identity
by Thnx4theGum
Summary: A oneshot on how Temperance Brennan sees herself. Please review.


Ok, so this is my first oneshot so go easy on me. Thoughts are in italics.  
Disclaimer: I don't own any Bones characters. I just play with them and put them back when I am done.

She stood in the doorway, unsure of what to do next.

_My name is Dr. Temperance Brennan._

Memories whirled through her genius-IQ mind: Her parents' sudden disappearance, Russ abandoning her to the foster system, years of residual pain. First one foot, then the next propelled her forward.

_My name is Dr. Temperance Brennan. I am a board-certified forensic anthropologist._

She would never forget the day that she glanced up at the Angelator and saw her mother's face. Forensic anthropology had helped her discover who her parents were and what had really happened to them and, though the truth had hurt, it was comforting to know. She took another step forward.

_My name is Dr. Temperance Brennan. I am a board-certified forensic anthropologist and a best-selling author._

Writing fiction had started as an outlet to relieve stress. It made sense to invent a character who shared her love of forensic anthropology and who was as successful outside the lab as she was inside. It was a world in which she had complete control, and she relished it. The fact that millions of others too had found release in the world of Dr. Kathy Reichs was secondary to Brennan's own need to make right everything that she could not in real life.

She moved another step forward and then another. Brennan held her head just a tiny bit higher and stood at the front of the room. She could feel people's gazes on her and someone began to speak. Her nervous energy began to mount again and she quickly clamped down on it.

_My name is Dr. Temperance Brennan. I am a board-certified forensic anthropologist and a best-selling author. I have a family._

Booth had once told her that there was more than one type of family. Her thoughts flicked briefly to her biological family. Her mother, Christine, murdered. Her father, Max, a murderer. And Russ, her brother who, though still on parole was trying to do his best to care for Amy and the girls. These were her flesh and blood and she loved each one of them, despite their faults.

Then there was her family at the Jeffersonian. Dr. Goodman, the man who had given her the opportunity to work for the Jeffersonian, and who had guided her patiently through the first year that she and Booth had worked together. She'd been upset at first that he'd passed her over when he left the lab, but his choice of Dr. Camille Saroyan over her had proven to be as wise as his choice of her over Michael. Brennan had not been sure if she would like Cam in the beginning, but she had proven herself worthy of being the team's leader over time. Angela Montenegro, her best female friend and the closest thing she'd ever had to a sister, was a definite driving force in Brennan's life. She pushed Brennan into unfamiliar territory without shame, but was always a soft place for the good doctor to fall. There was a stability to Angela that had arisen since she began working at the Jeffersonian, and in Brennan's opinion, since the artist had become involved with Dr. Jack Hodgins. Jack kept Angela stable and the rest of them sharp. Though she had always had a good rapport with him, it was not until they had been trapped together by the gravedigger that he and Brennan had become friends. She was happy that he and Angela had each other; especially after what had happened with Zack. Zack Addy- a sharp pain squeezed her heart- the boy who she guided, and the man who'd betrayed her like so many others. She did not understand- and probably never would- what had spurred him to make the choices that he did, but he would be a part of her family no matter what he had done. If she could forgive her father, she could certainly forgive Zack. Finally, there was Booth-

"Hey Bones," his voice broke softly through her reverie, "you ok?"

"Yes," she nodded, looking him in the eye, "I am. Let's get this road on the show."

He grinned down at her, catching her elbow in his arm, "That's 'show on the road', Bones, but I couldn't agree more!"

Together they stood in front of friends and family, and friends who had become family, and vowed to love and remain with each other for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health for as long as they both would live.

She wondered briefly how many of those things would come to pass; Booth claimed that everything happened eventually. But as they turned and left as husband and wife, she had only one thought that ran through her mind.

_My name is Dr. Temperance Brennan-BOOTH!_


End file.
